7 Ways To Crush Your First Day At Work

After interviews and nights practicing your answers to potential questions, you finally made it. You are now starting a job and preparing for your first day at work. Starting a new job can be exciting and daunting at the same time. Hopefully you are starting your dream job and there will be many new people to meet. After impressing HR, you now need to impress your coworkers and superiors to prove that they made the right choice. If you’re looking to find ways to crush your first few days at work, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some tips to keep in mind to make sure you kill it on your first day.

1. Sleep

Now that you know you have a job that starts at a specific time and date, getting into a sustainable sleep pattern early is important. First of all, you don’t want to give the wrong impression by staying up late the night before and waking up later than you intended. Coming in late on the first day is not unheard of. It’s just an unimpressive way to start a job. Show everybody you’re not only serious but also reliable by showing up on time. This means sleeping the appropriate number of hours so that you have a sustainable sleep pattern in place even before the job starts. Sleeping at a specified time each night and getting enough sleep will make it easier for you to wake up, get into a routine and come to work on time.

2. Choose Your Wardrobe

Companies have a specific dress code. Companies like Facebook for example are alright with their employees showing up in a hoodie and jeans. However, this is not always the case. Slay during your first few days by dressing to impress especially if you don’t know the company dress code yet. Make sure that you are wearing the right clothes so that you won’t be asked to leave. Showing up in jeans and a t-shirt at a financial institution, for example, is a no-no. It’s better to stick to a business suit or business casual during your first few days or until you figure out the appropriate office attire. If unsure, ask HR for advice.

3. Get Ready To Socialize

Part of working in an office means socializing with colleagues. During training, you get acquainted with how things are done or using equipment needed to do your job. Training does not cover how to interact with co-workers. This is something you need to learn on your own. While interactions online is acceptable for the tech generation, some people expect you to socialize on a face-to-face basis. You need to know how to interact with your co-workers and communicate clearly especially with superiors.

If you’re on the shy side, go to the mall and strike up conversations with strangers. This will help with improving your socializing skills before using them in the office on your first day. Ask advice from friends on how you can be a better communicator.

4. Clean Online Presence

College pictures of you drunk or wasted can be found by your new colleagues. Before starting on new job, clean up any embarrassing pictures of you online. These kinds of pictures need to go because your colleagues are looking up to you like you are to them. You don’t need to hide your social media presence because these can become red flags. Just clean them up so that your online presence has a professional vibe rather than a “college” one.

5. Be Resilient

Even if you passed training and orientation with flying colors, it will take a few weeks before you get the hang of doing things in the office. Don’t worry if you make mistakes. You’re the new guy and you are allowed a certain time frame to learn everything and to adjust to the office culture. If you don’t understand, always ask questions. Be resilient and show that you don’t give up easily.

6. Get Into A Routine

Get into a routine to start your day more effectively. Start by getting to work on time. You can then prioritize tasks according to importance so that everything that needs to get done is accomplished in a timely manner. A routine will also help you get used to your new job and prevent you from forgetting any important steps that you need to do first.

7. List Things You Need To Accomplish

Being the new guy means that you are untested. You basically have a clean slate which means you have the opportunity to impress. List things that you want to accomplish during the day or first few days and try your best to reach these goals. Accomplishing these tasks could impress superiors and colleagues. If you don’t, they can serve as challenges for tomorrow.

What To Do When Your Brain Is Fried

We’ve all been there before. A great creative week where ideas are flowing endlessly, inspiration and great feelings abound. You feel like you’re breezing through and galloping towards the finish line. Then you come in one day and spend hours and hours staring blankly at your computer screen. For writers, it’s writer’s block, while others simply refer to it as a fried brain.

If you’re struggling to think coherently or if you feel like there are no ideas or clear thoughts coming from your brain you may be suffering from mental fatigue. This can occur anytime to anyone and can hamper your productivity. For most people their first step is to get a caffeine fix. But this might not be the only way to beat a fried brain. Here are some great examples on how you can get your brain to work again.

Take A Walk

According to a study conducted in Edinburgh Scotland, taking a quick walk can help combat mental fatigue. The study hooked 12 people to a portable ECG machine that measured their brainwave patterns that can be used to gauge excitement, frustration, arousal and more. The participants were asked to walk through a predetermined route around Edinburgh through busy shopping districts and green spaces. ECG readings of the participants showed that walking through green spaces reduced feelings of frustration indicating a reduction in stress levels. Richard Coyne, PhD and one of the authors of the study states that taking a walk through a park reduces cognitive overload and can help you overcome your fried brain.

Think Positively

When the brain is stressed, it has problems sending signals from the amygdala – the brain’s center for emotions, emotional behavior and motivation – to the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for higher level thinking. However, focusing on positive thoughts like your plans for the upcoming weekend or even quitting time can help lower stress levels thereby increasing the flow of information to your prefrontal cortex. This means happy thoughts can help you think clearly again.

Go On Youtube

Did you know that YouTube has the same calming effect as taking a walk around the park? Studies show that humor has a very positive and relaxing effect on the brain so when you’re feeling as if your brain is fried, hit Youtube and look for humorous clips from Jimmy Kimmel, Carpool Karaoke from James Corden, or Jimmy Fallon. Or if you’re looking for something more inspiration look for FunForLouis, Casey Neistat, or Gary Vaynerchuck. The videos won’t only help your brain “laugh,” but also increase your motivation and perseverance so that stress is decreased and you regain mental clarity and health.

Sleep

The brain gets tired too. Although it never really goes to sleep, sleeping helps the brain slow down so that it essentially takes a break from thinking and just focus on bodily functions and repairing your body after taking a beating from stress. Switching off can help you forget about what’s keeping you stressed at least for the night and give you energy to tackle problems tomorrow. When the brain is rested you might see your problem in a new light and give you new angles on how to best tackle it.

Fatigue, slow mental response, irritability and finding it harder to perform are some of the signs of a fried brain. Giving your brain a break from time to time will not only keep you from burning out physically but mentally as well. Finding ways to relax your poor exhausted brain will help you in the long run too.

170 Questions to Ask A Client Before You Begin Your Campaign

Confused about what type of questions to a prospect in the crazy world of tech?

Well, worry no more! We decided to give you our 170 questions that we ask our clients, before we begin working with them. Now, we don’t ask every question, because let’s be honest, we would be here for several hours before we get all of the answers. Choose your questions wisely and add your company’s culture into how you ask your questions!

– Do you have an existing content management system you prefer or would you like our suggestions on the proper CMS?

Project and Budget Questions

– What is your budget for this project?

– What is your yearly budget for website improvements?

– What is you desired kick off date?

– Who all is responsible for reviewing and providing feedback on the site?

– Who will give final approval for the site prior to launch?

– Who will be managing the site once it’s completed?

– Will you require training on how to properly maintain the site?

At Owners Magazine, we care deeply about creating an incredible experience for our customers. What better way to get to know our clients than to ask them fun questions? The world of business can be so serious and with the way our society is becoming, we decided to throw a wrench into your average questions.

DISCLAIMER: These questions don’t work for every company. It all depends on your company culture and how your customers view you.

Get To Know Your Clients Better

– At which store would you like to max-out your credit card?

– If you could have one super power, what would it be?

– If you could be one character in any movie, Tv show, cartoon, who would you be?

– What movie title describes your life?

– What is your favorite TV show?

– What is your favorite video game?

– If you could choose one Pokemon that relates to your personality, who would it be?

– Do you have any nerdy addictions?

– Have you ever refitted an item, and if so, what did you regift?

– What’s the strangest talent you have?

– Do you have any nicknames?

– Which way does your toilet paper hang on the wall – over or under?

– What is that one song on you’re afraid to admit that you like?

– What are three things still left on your bucket list?

– If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

These Are All of the Industries Experiencing The Amazon Takeover

Amazon’s continuous growth is prompting the company to expand into a variety of industries well beyond their initial scope of electronic commerce. Beginning as an online bookstore, Amazon now represents the most valuable United States retailer regarding market capitalization. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is presently the world’s richest person. A combination of success and drive for constant expansion is resulting in an Amazon takeover of several important industries. Amazon still reigns supreme as an online retailer, though clearly that title alone is not enough to satisfy Bezos. His areas of interest are vast, including the following.

Even before the Whole Foods acquisition, Amazon’s plans to build convenience stores and curbside pickup locations shows a deep infatuation with becoming a strong brick-and-mortar presence. Beyond a mere presence, Amazon is confident that consumers will continue embracing a model that allows them to order online and pick up in person.

Amazon’s opening of the Amazon Go Store in Seattle in January marks an exciting time for these interests. Customers enter the store and scan their Amazon Go app as they do. Cameras and other sensors track customers’ activity as their browse, registering an item into their virtual cart when they take it off the shelf. Customers are charged when they leave the store with their goods. Amazon terms the idea “Just Walk Out” shopping and hopes to attract customers who despise waiting in lines, as many do.

Amazon’s reshaping of the typical brick-and-mortar presence is introducing consumers to new ideas like “Just Walk Out” shopping. Combined with the acquisition of Whole Foods, the company will without a doubt continue to redefine the brick-and-mortar shopping experience.

Delivery

Amazon has been shaping the delivery industry for many years now, especially since Amazon Prime’s introduction in 2005. The company’s vow to deliver items to Prime customers in two days or less still presents a challenge to online retail competition, who are well aware that they must match these shipping expectations or compensate in some other way, like offering lower prices. Meeting Amazon’s delivery promises and their costs is a major challenge, especially to new eCommerce businesses.

Beyond Amazon Prime’s major influence on shipping expectations among online retailers, Amazon is redefining what the delivery space means through their utilization of drone technology. Specifically, Amazon Prime Air is introducing a new delivery system, where unmanned aerial vehicles can safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less.

Amazon, already familiar with quick parcel delivery, is upping the ante even more in the delivery industry with such lofty ambition. Still, with a private trial already underway in the UK, Amazon Prime Air and the use of drones in delivery is a very real aspect of the future. Upon receiving the regulatory support, we can anticipate Amazon Prime Air to be an option for many.

Technology

It makes sense that Amazon is continuing to make significant moves in the tech sphere. There’s no doubt regarding the company’s technical expertise and how technology can accommodate access to their variety of products.

Among their technological products is Amazon Fire TV, which streams live TV and enables users to watch hundreds of shows and movies. There’s also the Amazon Kindle Fire, which capitalizes on Amazon’s vast digital library in the form of a tablet computer with a seven-inch multi-touch display. Many still view Kindle Fire as a strong competitor to Apple’s iPad.

Amazon’s Dash buttons, while simple, are also an exciting addition to their array of tech. The Dash Button is a single-function controller that consumers can place around their house near items that need replenishing. Need a new order of Tide paper towels? Order a specific Dash button for Tide, put it near the towels and press the button when you notice them running low. They will then arrive on your doorstep in a couple of days.

Entertainment

Amazon Prime offers much more than free two-day shipping. One of Prime’s most notable benefits is the increasingly impressive Amazon Video platform. The Amazon Prime Video show Transparent won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy in 2005, while 2017 Oscar Best Picture nominee Manchester by the Sea is also developed by Amazon Studios.

Amazon is increasing their influence in both TV and film by producing excellent content, including many notable releases in development. They’re emerging as a viable competitor to cable, Netflix and Hulu.

Whether a consumer prefers reading a book or watching a movie, Amazon is seeking to have the entertainment niche covered.

Is This Amazon’s Peak?

Amazon’s firm grasp across multiple industries begs the question: Is this Amazon’s peak? While it’s impossible to tell definitively, stockholders should monitor the situation closely. Amazon has been a model of consistent growth since 2000. Presently, Amazon’s stock trades for approximately 130 times the business’s projected earnings for 2018 and almost four times its projected sales for 2018.

These growth prospects rely on revenue per customer growth. Although there will certainly be customers who increase their spending on Amazon, it’s difficult to think of any huge breakthroughs or offerings that will prompt more revenue per customer, especially upon Prime’s increase to $119 per year. Many customers may opt to spend that on a Costco membership instead.

Additionally, it’s important to note that Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods plays a significant role in the stock increases the past year for Amazon. The market seems to be operating under an assumption that Amazon will make a similarly buzzworthy acquisition this year, which is far from a given.

Still, even if market projections seem a bit optimistic at the moment for Amazon, there’s no doubting that the company will continue playing a significant role in shifting expectations within several industries, from delivery and entertainment to the brick-and-mortar experience.